Mumbai: Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata conveyed to Tata Sons board after the meeting last week that several key issues remained unresolved, rendering any formal discussion on the reappointment of the holding company’s chairman N Chandrasekaran premature, said people familiar with the matter.
That could lead to a deadlock between Chandra and Tata, they said. Tata sought greater clarity from Chandrasekaran on the group’s five-year strategic roadmap, the framework for providing an exit option to Shapoorji Pallonji Group that doesn’t involve Tata Sons going public as well as his formal position on the long-debated matter of the listing.
These issues have gained traction amid turbulence at the Trusts and the holding company of the conglomerate over governance and other matters, amid questions over the performance of units such as Air India and BigBasket.
Towards the end of the May 26 board meeting, a few directors are learnt to have informally asked whether Chandrasekaran’s reappointment for a third term could be taken up next time.
Consensus Needed
Noel Tata responded that it was still too soon, pointing to unresolved issues and unanswered questions that require further engagement, said the people cited.
Chief executives of Air India, Tata Electronics and Tata Digital made presentations on their respective businesses to the board at the meeting. Noel Tata is learnt to have provided extensive feedback on BigBasket and Air India, executives close to the matter said.
Chandrasekaran had called for a special board meeting on May 26 to respond in detail to concerns raised by Noel Tata at the holding company’s previous board meeting on February 24 at which consideration of his reappointment for a third term had been deferred. Tata Trusts controls Tata Sons with a 66% holding. SP Group has an 18% stake that it wants to sell in order to repay debt.
Noel Tata had raised concerns over losses at Air India and BigBasket and called for course correction. Tata Sons is slated to hold its next board meeting on June 12 to discuss annual accounts. People aware of the exchanges said Noel Tata also indicated that any timeline or date for considering the reappointment would need to be discussed and arrived at through consensus.
Tata Sons and Noel Tata did not comment. According to executives close to Tata Sons, discussions with SP Group on an exit plan do not carry significant weight until clarity emerges from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on the matter of the listing. “The value of Tata group is too high to easily consider a non-listing option to buy back stakes from SP Group. Until there is clarity from RBI on the matter, no one can proceed,” one of them said. As an ‘upperlayer’ non-banking finance company, Tata Sons is required to launch an initial public offering, potentially diluting ownership. It has sought exemption from RBI.
Chandrasekaran is also understood to be unwilling to outline any formal five-year growth plan at this stage. He is similarly not in a hurry to raise the matter of reappointment, officials close to the matter said. During Ratan Tata’s tenure, the issue of reappointment was typically brought up a month before a term ended, officials said. It was Tata Trusts that had passed a resolution in 2025 to raise the matter of Chandrasekaran’s reappointment a year before the end of his term to ensure leadership stability.
The May 26 meeting saw Chandrasekaran getting chief executives to lead detailed presentations before the board and Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, people familiar with the deliberations said. Unlike the previous board meeting, which had been marked by sharper scrutiny and unresolved questions, this session focused extensively on operating businesses.
